Rehan Ahmed included in England's white-ball squads for Bangladesh tour
Rehan Ahmed has earned his maiden call-up to England's white-ball squads for the upcoming Bangladesh tour. The 18-year-old leg-spinner, who took a historic five-wicket haul on his Test debut in December, has been included in the ODI and T20I squads for the tour. Meanwhile, Jos Buttler will lead both ODI and T20I squads in what will be England's first tour to Bangladesh since 2016.
A historic Test debut
Rehan had become the youngest-ever man to make his Test debut for England (3rd Test vs Pakistan, Karachi). He broke Brian Close's record, who was picked for a Test against New Zealand in 1949, at 18 years and 149 days. Rehan was 18 years and 126 days at the start of the match. Notably, he had just three First-Class matches under his belt.
Youngest ever with fifer on Test debut
During the Karachi Test, Rehan decimated the Pakistan batting line-up with a scintillating five-wicket haul in the second innings. He became the youngest ever to take a fifer on Test debut, breaking the record of Australia's Pat Cummins. Rehan, 18, attained the feat on Day 3 of the 3rd Test in Karachi. He took a total of seven wickets in the match.
Rehan has played seven List A games
Rehan has played just seven List A games. However, he has featured in 50-over cricket for England Under-19s and England Lions. The young leg-spinner has also worked with Leicestershire (in the T20 Blast), Southern Brave (the Hundred), and Gulf Giants (ILT20).
Bairstow, Livingstone remain unavailable
Senior batters Jonny Bairstow and Liam Livingstone will unavailable for the tour due to injuries. Bairstow is yet to recover after his freakish golfing injury in September. It had ruled him out of England's winter season. The right-handed batter will see a surgeon later this month. Meanwhile, Livingstone is out with ankle and knee issues. The duo will hope to feature in IPL 2023.
A look at other important developments
Like Rehan, Somerset captain Tom Abell, a middle-order batter has been included in the two squads. Pace spearhead Mark Wood, who was rested for the recent ODI tour of South Africa, returns to the fold. Saqib Mahmood, who has been away since May last year due to stress fracture, also returns to action.
England's ODI and T20I squads for Bangladesh tour
ODI squad: Jos Buttler (captain), Tom Abell, Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. T20I squad: Jos Buttler (captain) Tom Abell, Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, Woakes, Wood.
BAN vs ENG: A look at the fixtures
1st ODI: March 1 (Dhaka), 2nd ODI: March 3 (Dhaka), and 3rd ODI: March 6 (Chattogram). 1st T20I: March 9 (Chattogram), 2nd T20I: March 12 (Dhaka), and 3rd T20I: March 14 (Dhaka).
